


maybe we could find new ways to fall apart

by cadmvs



Series: Tony Stark Bingo 2019 [4]
Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, Minor Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 10:20:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19423993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cadmvs/pseuds/cadmvs
Summary: Tony never believed in finding his Soulmate until his student from the Physics class, Stephen Strange talked about his Mark on his chest.He does what everyone would do. You’d push them away, right? Right?





	maybe we could find new ways to fall apart

**Author's Note:**

> Square: s5 — high school  
> Rating: gen  
> Warnings: none  
> Pairing: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange  
> Summary: Tony never believed in finding his Soulmate until his student from the Physics class, Stephen Strange talked about his Mark on his chest. He does what everyone would do. You’d push them away, right? Right?

Stephen Strange was a boy without any superpowers, but if you were to ask him if he had one, he’d say yes. Maybe it couldn’t be qualified as a superpower but he was pretty talented in drawing. It wasn’t a special superpower, but hey, who was he to judge? 

The day he received his Mark was also the day he started his senior year. The small small line above his chest soon turned into the letter “T”. Many would mistaken it with a cross and he was content the way it was. 

His ex-lover, currently best friend and future crime partner Christine Palmer was also there to receive her own Mark, but soon after she got it, (it was a lovely flower that bloomed over her stomach) it faded away, which implicated that her Soulmate was dead before they could got their Marks. 

Two weeks later, two weeks full of anxiety later, he joined the Fine Arts club so he could improve himself. He met a boy named Wong there, they quickly become good friends. Wong told them that he didn’t get his Soul Mark as he wasn’t 18 yet. Christine and Wong joked and stated if they don’t get their marks until they’re 30, they will get married instead.

Stephen Strange, somehow, found himself in the teacher’s room. He knew it was wrong but he couldn’t help himself from asking his Ethics teacher questions after questions. 

“How do I find my Soulmate?”  
“What do these Marks even imply?”  
“Am I supposed to find out who they are from a small scratch in their body? Ridiculous!”  
“What if they aren’t even born yet?”

His Ethics teacher, on the other hand, answered all of them patiently. God bless Steve Rogers’ soul. 

“You will find them when the time is right.”  
“They imply specific moments in your Soulmate’s life. Like in your situation, it may be the place they were born in or simply their name.”  
“As your and their bond grow, you’ll find more Marks on your body. Each time you get closer to them, you will realise who they are because Marks will turn into very intimate scratches.”  
“If you got a Mark then they are born and already capable of forming thoughts and memories, which is basically over six. But if that’s the case, if they’re too young to understand the concept, they will not get their Marks until they turn 18. This is the thing.”

Stephen found it intriguing, to have a Mark on your body to tell who you belong to. They didn’t get proper classes and education as such so it wasn’t easy to grasp the concept. He knew this was supposed to happen at one point in his life, but this wasn’t—

“Watch where you’re going, kiddo.” A voice broke his thoughts as he unintentionally hit a teacher in the shoulder while walking. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I really am.”

“You better be,” Mr. Stark, the Physics teacher, spoke but it was all pretend. “You seemed to be deep in thought, what happened? Girl issues?”

Stephen shook his head. “I just got my Mark but it doesn’t even represent anything. I’m scared I’ll never find them.”

Mr. Stark giggled and patted the boy on his back. “No worries kiddo, I got my Mark when I was 22, and I’m still waiting for them to show up.”

“Oh,” Stephen said, in a thoughtful manner. “Is your soulmate younger than you, then? Wait- how old are you?”

Mr. Stark smiled. “34,” he said. 

“Wow, that means they’re of age now, isn’t it?”

“Yes, yes it is.”

***

Stephen calmly entered his house, ready to face his father and tell him that he got his first Mark. His father, in a way, wasn’t really a bad person. But he wasn’t well raised to believe such things as a Soulmate. Just because he didn’t get one, didn’t mean he had to be judging towards his son, right?

The truth is, Eugene Strange was indeed a strange man. The second he saw his son’s Mark, it didn’t even take him a long time to scream and shout and tell him that he could never meet his soulmate. Stephen did his very best to stay calm, it was his last intention to hurt Eugene. After his mother’s and sister’s death, his father really became a different person and Stephen could understand him, even though he could never agree with him. 

Stephen left his father with his own alcohol and left the house, deciding to stay at Christine’s. 

The next day, he saw Mr. Stark again. He didn’t quite understand how he could create such a bond with his teacher in a matter of one day. But just like how the rest of the students were saying, Mr. Stark was a really cool and a congenial man. 

“What was your first Mark?” Stephen asked that day, after their 9AM class which was Physics. 

Mr. Stark smiled. “Their name’s first letter,” he explained. “A small ‘S’ inside my inner wrist. I always thought it would be Steve, you know, the Ethics teacher. We actually dated for a while but the age is not correct as I predicted and he already found his Soulmate.”

“Really?” Stephen asked, curiously. “Who is it?”

“You wouldn’t know him, he’s a friend of my father, actually. I don’t know why he was friends with a soldier,” Mr. Stark shook his head. “He’s a war veteran, his Soulmate, I mean.”

Stephen nodded. “Cool. My name also starts with ‘S’ but I doubt it’s me, hah.” He cracked a laugh.

He didn’t see how Mr. Stark stopped breathing for a second, instead the teacher asked him about his Mark. “Oh,” he said. “It’s a ‘T’ in my chest. Looks like a cross but I don’t think neither of us are religious.”

Mr. Stark smiled, far from being genuine, he continued to shuffle his papers and grade the papers of the latest pop quiz, which Stephen got an A, of course. 

One weekend and three days later, on a Tuesday morning, Mr. Stark found Stephen reading in the corner of the teacher’s room, discussing something with the Norwegian Arts teacher he forgot the name of. Th… Thor? Maybe. Who was he to judge?

He instantly felt something hot crawling inside his veins, he wasn’t really used to seeing Stephen with other teachers other than Steve. Was it jealousy? Of course it was not, don’t be ridiculous Tony. You’re just sad that you saw your favourite student and possible Soulmate with someone other than you and now you’re JEALOUS. Oh, God. He really was.

How did he come up with the idea that Stephen was his Soulmate was a complete disaster, let me tell you about it. The day after he and Stephen made the discussion about Marks, Steve and Bucky, his Soulmate, invited Tony over for dinner and a couple of drinks. Tony talked to them about how Stephen has his initial and he has his. Bucky said it could be purely coincidental. But Steve said something afterwards to make Tony think that Stephen could be the one he was searching for. 

“You know, Stephen’s second mark on his ankle. I saw it while we were talking about a movie,” Steve said.

“So?” Tony had said, with noodle inside his mouth. 

“So, it’s a yarrow, you dipshit,” Steve had exclaimed. “You have the same one on your same ankle!”

Steve and Bucky had decided that Stephen Strange was indeed the very Soulmate of one Tony Stark. Tony hadn’t been able to sleep since then. 

And now the boy wasn’t even aware of his existence: sitting there, randomly reading a book and arguing about it with that weird Norwegian dude. Yes, damn, he was very very jealous. He decided to break their little unimportant conversation for his own profit. “Hey, Mr. Teacher,” he announced his arrival as he touched Stephen’s shoulder and started to drag him away. “I need to steal our dear Mr. Strange here for a few minutes, I know you don’t mind.”

“I think you meant to say you hope he doesn’t mind?” Stephen inquired. “We were in the middle of coming to an agreement—“

“No, I don't mind, friend,” Thor spoke up. “But return him, please, like he said, we were in the middle of something and I hate interruptions.” He was smiling but he wasn’t meaning at all. Tony would a little freaked out if he weren’t filled with rage.

He dragged the boy away as far as he could, making sure that nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation that was probably about to happen. 

Stephen was frowning. “What was that tantrum about?” he asked. “Couldn’t have you just wait a few more minutes until I finished that?” 

“No!” Tony exclaimed. “Yes, I could, well, but no. We have to speak, now.”

Stephen leaned on his one leg and deepened his frown. “I hope it’s important enough to—“

“I’m your Soulmate.”

“Okay,” okay. “That wasn’t really what I expected.”

“Do you like riding bicycles?” Tony blurted out. “Were you bit by a dog when you were younger? Is your favourite channel to watch History Channel? Did your mother and sister die? I know all of these because these are printed on my skin!” He took a deep breath, then continued as Stephen was staring into Tony’s eyes in awe and shock. “And we both have our own special flowers on our ankles. Steve and Bucky have heliotropium whilst my students, Peter and MJ have daisies. We have yarrows. It’s always been special to me because that means ‘everlasting love’ and- God- ever since I was little all I wanted was to be loved!”

The sudden outburst was unexpected, surely. He hadn’t plan to be this honest and emotional, and when it came to opening up about his feelings, Tony was like the box of Pandora. Yet, here he was, talking like a baby learning how to speak for the first time. And God help their souls whoever tried to stop him. 

Stephen was still in that blissful haze of finding out about his Soulmate for the first time. He was lucky to find him in, what, three weeks? And, God, how hard it must’ve been for Mr.Stark to wait for him for years and years! 

“I am your Soulmate?” Stephen asked, in a disbelief. “Me? I’m your Soulmate?”

“Yes, that’s what I think I was trying to explain.”

“But- why? How?” 

“Did you listen to a word I said?” Tony shouted, not in a rude manner, he was also in a very distasteful situation. “For years I thought you were dead. Then I got Marks and I knew you were too small. I can’t believe you’re… still small.”

“I’m not small,” Stephen shouted back. “I’m taller than you.”

“That’s not what I meant!” 

“I’m 18, Mr. Stark. And if it were wrong, I don’t think I would get a Mark at all!” 

Tony stopped talking, he tried to calm down and breathe. It was for the best, right? It wouldn’t be responsible for him to start a fight with someone, let alone his Soulmate. 

Breathe in, breathe out.

“Look, Stephen,” Tony started to speak once he thought he could manage conversing properly. “I’m not saying it’s wrong because you’re younger than me. Way… younger than me. It’s okay, I guess but…” 

“But, what?”

“I spent my entire life alone, like… yeah, I had sex and everything but… I never have been in a relationship before. My dating with Steve only lasted for a week! A week until I screwed things up. What makes you think that I won’t screw up with you? I can’t— you’re too young, and innocent. Also- I’m your teacher. Is it legal… and ethical?”

“Then why did you let me know that I’m your Soulmate? I was content with my life before you showed up!”

“That’s what I’m saying! You’ll be better off without me, you’ll be happier when you’re on your own!”

Stephen huffed, the bell was ringing to tell them that the time was showing eleven but neither of them were interested in going to class. Did Tony really not want to be with Stephen? At all? The question made him shiver and think of the worst. 

“Think of it this way, kid,-“

“I’m not a kid.”

“Stephen,” Tony corrected. “Think of it this way, it’s very normal to not have a Soulmate in your age. Perhaps when you grow up-“

“I have already grown up!”

“But you’re not even allowed to drink!”

“Why would I need to drink?”

“I don’t know!” He exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. The whole breathing and trying to think straight thing wasn’t really working out. “You’re a teen, that’s what you do! You drink and be free and don’t care about the curfews and have sex and—“

“I have no interest in those things,” Stephen shouted, it felt like his throat was aching from all those shouts he wasn’t accustomed to. He liked speaking in hushed tones, he never had the need to shout. “I just wanted to find my Soulmate. That’s all.”

“So did I. But I never imagined it to be you,” Tony whispered.

“Oh? So it’s really about me?” Stephen put his hands on his own arms, wrapping himself completely, suddenly feeling a cold breeze touching his face. “I’m sorry for not having big breasts and blonde hair or whatever else you’d die to have in your Soulmate, Mr. Stark. The Faith probably made an inaccurate guess and thought you were a fag-“

“-Stephen-“

“-I’m sorry for being a high school student, I’m sorry for not being like the person you thought for twelve years!” 

“Gosh, just shut up.”

Tony took over Stephen’s words and pressed his lips against the boy’s lips. It wasn’t something intimate, like no tongues were involved but it wasn’t bad at all. Stephen touched Tony’s chin while kissing his lips, he had watched too many rom-coms to know that this was the climax of their getting together story, this was the part where they’d get applause. But it was real world, and (hopefully) nobody was around.

He understood why it was wrong to be with Tony. One, he was a self-deprecating son of a bitch. Two, teacher-student stuff that wouldn’t be allowed at all. Three, Tony was a bottom and he was so scared to admit so. Well, the third one was a guess but it didn’t mean it was an incorrect guess. From what he could see, the man was starting to writhe under Stephen’s inexperienced touch and he’d literally beg in a minute to have a seexual intercourse. Not sex, though, is Stephen even there yet?

But no matter how many minutes they passed while tasting each others’ lips, it never felt like the wrong thing to do. In fact, Tony realised that he would quite like to do it more and if possible, every day and every hour and every minute— This is what they called “Soulmates”, right?

That night while they were both sleeping in bed, (separate, thank you very much) they both received their new Mark. Under their neck, somewhere above their lung. A heart, inside a name is written. 

While Stephen’s read “ts”, as in Tony Stark, his Soulmate’s were “ss”. Tony wanted to imagine it as Stephen Stark, more than Stephen Strange.

Yes, he thought. It’s very strange. So Strange for him to have a Soulmate so beautiful, and so brilliant.

And, oh Lord, he was so falling, falling and falling in love!

**Author's Note:**

> im sorry if i made any mistakes i dont have a beta and all of these was written in the sprint so i didnt check twice


End file.
